HTC smartphones did not infringe Apple patents, U.K. Judge ruled

By Gene Ryan Briones on 07/04/2012

The Apple versus HTC war started way back in 2010, with the Cupertino-based tech giant filing its first ITC complaint against the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. It was widely known as the first ever lawsuit filed against an Android device manufacturer. Today, the battle for supremacy continues, as Apple, dubbed as the “patent troll”, takes the lawsuit to the U.K. However, it seems that HTC is winning the duel this time around. Bloomberg is reporting that Judge Christopher Floyd has ruled that HTC did not infringe Apple’s four patents and added that three of those patents are actually invalid.

The four patents that Apple accused HTC of infringing include the slide-to-unlock feature, software allowing users to touch the screen in two spots simultaneously, and tools used to scroll through photographs and change alphabets. The court ruled that Apple’s photo-management patent is valid but it determined that HTC did not infringe it. “Competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours,” Apple said in a statement. On the other hand, HTC spokesperson Andrea Sommer said that HTC is disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace.